Bench Tips
by Brad Smith
More BenchTips by Brad Smith are at
groups.yahoo.com/group/BenchTips/Ball Burs or
facebook.com/BenchTips
Ball Burs
I use ball burs quite a bit for carving and for cleaning up bits of solder that need to be removed. Ball burs seem to be more controllable than other cutting burs. They're less apt to grab and walk over your piece leaving nasty scars. And I've found that size matters. The large 8-10 millimeter size is a useful size for carving off bulk material while the small half-millimeter or less size can be used at high speed for signing your name on the back of the piece.
Cleaning Steel Shot
Steel shot in a vibratory or rotary tumbler works great to burnish up your finished silver pieces. Surfaces are shined and hardened by the shot impinging on it. Carbon steel shot can get rusty, and even stainless steel can develop a blackish coating that's hard to remove. My solution of choice to clean the shot is Classic Coke. Just pour an ounce or two over the shot and let the tumbler run for an hour or so. A bad case might require a second cleaning. I'm no chemist, but I've heard that it's the phosphoric acid in Coke that does the trick. While you're waiting for the shot to clean up, just settle back and enjoy the rest of the Coke.
Deburring a Hole
When you drill a hole, there's usually a burr produced on the underside of the metal. Typically you would then file or sand this smooth, but doing so will put scratches on your piece that will take time to polish off. A quick way to remove the burr is to grab a drill that's about three times as large as your hole. Simply twist it in the hole to cut off the burr. I usually do this by hand, but it you have many holes to do, put the drill into a holder like a pin vice. Vua Backbender's Gazette, 10/11
Via THE ROCKCOLLECTOR October, 2011
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REMOVING A STONE FROM A BEZEL SETTING
If you've forgotten to use dental floss and got your stone caught in a bezel, there's one thing you can try before
starting to pry. Find some sticky wax or beeswax. Roll it into a pencil-sized cylinder and stick the end onto the top
of the stone. Mold it on well and yank. If all else fails, you either have to very carefully pry open the bezel with a
sharp knife blade or drill a small hole in back of the stone and push it out with the point of a scribe. MAKING YOUR OWN MOKUME Ever think about making your own mokume? Here's a link to the detailed steps in the
sequence as done by a professional. Look for mokume on
http://www.rchristopher.com/tech/
by Brad Smith Via Gritty Greetings 10/11, via RockCollector 10/11
Fascinating Facts About Silver
Although silver was discovered later than gold and copper, it has been known and used by humankind since prehistoric times. Heredotus, the Greek historian, knew of silver used to make coins and beads, exploited from the river sands of the Pactolus in Lydia. The Chinese wrote of silver metals in 2500 BC. In the earliest prehistoric strata at the site of Troy, considerable deposits of silver and gold treasure have been extracted. Among the artifacts, siver bracelets and gold earrings, ornaments placed in a silver cup and more than 8000 beads were buried in the ancient city 2000 years before Christ.
The most ancient silver miners of importance were in Asia minor and on islands in the Aegean Sea. The Romans obtained most of their silver from Spain until supplies became scarce during the Middle Ages. After the discovery of the Americas in 1492, Mexico became the largest silver producing country in the world. Canada and the United States also produce significant amounts of silver.
Silver is a lustrous white metal widely distributed in nature. In ores, it is commonly associated with gold, lead, and copper. Much of the world's silver is obtained as a by-product of smelting these other metals. Horn-silver (AgCl) is found in the oxidized portions of ore-bearing lies near the surface. Small amounts of silver in the oxidation zone form as the more complex compounds erode and weather. At deeper levels silver occurs as sulfides, arsenides and antirnonides (compounds of silver with sulfur, arsenic, and antimony). In these deposits, formation is the result of deposition from primary hydrothermal solutions. Argentite occurs in low temperature hydrothermal veins in association with other silver minerals
or sometimes in the cementation of lead and zinc deposits.
When found in a metallic state, it is called native silver. Native silver usually occurs in dentritic and wire-like forms which are aggregates of minute crystals. Silver may also occur in thin sheets or in large masses. In Kongsberg, Norway, magnificent crystalline wire specimens occur in association with sulfides, calcite, barite, fluorite, and quartz. The world's largest specimen of massive silver was mined in Aspen Colorado, and weighs in at 844 pounds. On the Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan, small amounts can be found in association with native copper. In Mexico, the Guanajuato Mine has been in operation since the year 1500 AD. During that time, more than 5000 billion kilos of silver have been mined.
About 3/4 of the world's silver production is used for monetary purposes, either as coins or as bullion that
governments hold to redeem paper currency. The leading industrial use of silver is for the manufacture of tableware and jewelry. The second largest consumer is the photographic industry. Compounded with bromide or chlorine, silver forms salts which register light and shade on photographs. Mm silver had the highest thermal and electrical conductivity of any substance, making it ideal for use in electronic equipment. Silver is second only to gold in malleability. One ounce of silver can be drawn into wire 30 miles long. A silver leaf can be beaten to a thickness of 1/100,000 of an inch.
via Breccia, 5/11; via Rockonteur, 1/04; via Golden Spike News, 12/99; via Strata Gems, 10/99; from Cedar Valley Gems via The Tumbler October 2011
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Any Questions Call or E-mail: Judy Budnik at 513 575-1990, wisoh@msn.com or
Charles Rudokas at 513 932-0591, cprfacet@aol.com
